Tips - 7.x

References

Configuring Workflow - basics on how to configure a workflow so you can take advantage of the features of this app
Advanced Workflow Configuration - know the difference between conditions, validators, and post functions
User experiences and tips - David Greenfield: when issues are not being created

Test your workflow!

Workflows can be complicated . Define a reasonable test scenario for your workflow on a test project or test system. Often, it is the only way to find errors before putting your workflow in production. Consider formalizing your workflow testing with GINT - Groovy Integration Test Framework. In the future, a simple GINT workflow test example will be provided .

Errors

Post functions are run after the transition has already occurred - there is no turning back. When you see your post function not working as expected, and you want to check if it is due to a configuration error, go through the log messages in the Global Configuration page. This is the go-to place to understand what went wrong. Refer to How to get problem determination information for more details.

Using JQL

The JQL support provides some powerful conditioning and substitution support. Test your JQL in interactive Jira first. If you use substitution variables for the JQL, double quote values that may (on substitution) contain blanks.

Custom fields not changing

Make sure the custom field is defined for the issue type you have
Make sure it is on the supported Custom Field Types when using set. Use one of the copy custom fields instead if appropriate. Otherwise, open an issue to get support for unsupported types.
How to get problem determination information

Subtask have different issue types

You cannot create a sub-task with the same issue-type as the parent since Jira has unique sub-task issue types . You can do something similar by using a naming convention that creates sub-task types with similar names. For instance, Bug and Bug-sub-task. Then the %parent_issuetype%-subtask can be used to create a sub-task with a name related type.

Post function ordering

It is important for workflow designers to understand how the order of processing can affect results. Some actions will not behave properly if done in the wrong sequence. Think carefully and try alternative ordering in your tests.

In some cases, ordering the post function may improve related behavior.

Greenhopper rapid board - CSOT-87
Avoid indexing bug - JRA-31775 on pre-Jira 6 systems - see CSOT-78